Metrum Acoustics new DAC model Flint

[robert766]

Thanks so much for your impressions. Especially describing how this NOS dac presents music differently from the OS DACs you are familiar with.

 

[the associate]

Thanks for the review. Owned a Metrum Octave a while back and it's definitely a brand I plan to re-visit.

 

[Charente]

Update to FLINT impressions

The FLINT in my office system has now had nearly 4 weeks of ‘settling-down’ and noticeably treble has more refinement now … e.g. cymbals sound more satisfyingly metallic … ting rather than zing. The change is small but there nonetheless. This is particularly noticeable on the jazz album Lebroba (Andrew Cyrille). The title track is full of delicate cymbal work and this performance oozes detail and quality.

I have also spent some time making improvements in two particular areas to get the most of this DAC.

Firstly, I am always suspicious about the quality of USB signal/power, given that so many other devices compete on the same bus. Even though I am using a pretty good DDC, I felt some improvement was possible. So, I have ‘stolen’ the UpTone UltraCap power supply from my main system and injected its power directly into the DDC, thereby isolating the ‘dirty’ power from the iMac. This gave a noticeable improvement on the low-level background detail. Ambience appears more realistic and there is an improved airiness generally (one of my earlier nit-pick gripes). I guess even a cheaper, good quality 5v LPS could provide similar results, but I had the UltraCap already and that is now staying in the office system.

Secondly, I felt that the MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Open headphones, as good as they are, are just a tad too warm for the smooth delivery of the FLINT. I opted for the Sonarworks True-Fi DSP correction software. This corrects the frequency curve of the AFO, using a flat line as a reference point and then the user can adjust for their age and personal preference. From my age correction point, I reined back the treble to 15% up from flat and bass to +5dB. That sounds just about right to my ears and listening comfort.

Both these improvements are worthwhile in my case but, as usual, your own experience will depend on the equipment being used. Perhaps some food for thought, at least.

I also borrowed the MJOLNIR 2 amplifier from my main system to see what difference that makes, in comparison to the LYR2. I’ll update further when I have a moment, as well as a comparison I did of the FLINT against the Gungnir MB. I am coming to some interesting conclusions about both these comparisons.

It is a shame that this product is not getting much coverage on forums nor by reviewers and yet, it is worthy of serious consideration IMO. It does require careful thought about equipment matching to get the best out of the FLINT but, given that, I still maintain it is an excellent contender on anyone’s audition list.

 

[the associate]

Please do keep us updated. I am particularly interested in your comparison with the Gungnir MB as that is what I am using now.

 

[skor]

I ended up purchasing the Metrum Flint from Anjo (CEO Metrum Acoustics, great guy) and upgraded to the DAC TWO modules.
Audirvana → Audiophilleo 2 +PP (coax) → Metrum Flint w/ DAC TWO Upgrade DAC → Monoprice Liquid Platinum → ZMF Ori (Auteur being built)

In my opinion, now it sounds just like the Amethyst (same chip) with classic house Metrum sound and has great synergy w/ LP. Very affordable way to try out Metrum NOS DAC.

 

[Wes S]

I ended up purchasing the Metrum Flint from Anjo (CEO Metrum Acoustics, great guy) and upgraded to the DAC TWO modules.
Audirvana → Audiophilleo 2 +PP (coax) → Metrum Flint w/ DAC TWO Upgrade DAC → Monoprice Liquid Platinum → ZMF Ori (Auteur being built)

In my opinion, now it sounds just like the Amethyst (same chip) with classic house Metrum sound and has great synergy w/ LP. Very affordable way to try out Metrum NOS DAC.

Nice! I am looking to pair the Amethysts, with my LP and am interested in the Flint with a
upgraded chips, as well. Other than the amp, what advantages does Amethyst have over Flint? I dont need the amp section, and this is why the Flint is of interest. I am a bit worried if I go with Flint, that I will always wonder how much better, if any, the Amethyst is. Anyone heard both? Thoughts? Thanks for your time!

 

[Baten]

I ended up purchasing the Metrum Flint from Anjo (CEO Metrum Acoustics, great guy) and upgraded to the DAC TWO modules.
Audirvana → Audiophilleo 2 +PP (coax) → Metrum Flint w/ DAC TWO Upgrade DAC → Monoprice Liquid Platinum → ZMF Ori (Auteur being built)

In my opinion, now it sounds just like the Amethyst (same chip) with classic house Metrum sound and has great synergy w/ LP. Very affordable way to try out Metrum NOS DAC.

That's one heck of a cool set-up

 

[skor]

Nice! I am looking to pair the Amethysts, with my LP and am interested in the Flint with a
upgraded chips, as well. Other than the amp, what advantages does Amethyst have over Flint? I dont need the amp section, and this is why the Flint is of interest. I am a bit worried if I go with Flint, that I will always wonder how much better, if any, the Amethyst is. Anyone heard both? Thoughts? Thanks for your time!

The default DAC chip that comes with the Flint is the DAC ONE module. So if you pay to upgrade that to DAC TWO, other than the USB input and amp section, nothing (I confirmed w/ Anjo). The upgrade was $150 USD of which Anjo was kind enough to offer me a $100 discount. So total out the door was ~$500 about 1/2 the cost of the Amethyst.

 

[Wes S]

The default DAC chip that comes with the Flint is the DAC ONE module. So if you pay to upgrade that to DAC TWO, other than the USB input and amp section, nothing (I confirmed w/ Anjo). The upgrade was $150 USD of which Anjo was kind enough to offer me a $100 discount. So total out the door was ~$500 about 1/2 the cost of the Amethyst.

That is exactly, what i wanted to know. Thanks!

 

[Charente]

Other than the amp, what advantages does Amethyst have over Flint?

The Amethyst does have a superior PS on board, largely because that is needed for the Amp section ... having said that, the FLINT has a smaller, simpler but isolated PS. Seems to do the job well.

 

[Wes S]

The Amethyst does have a superior PS on board, largely because that is needed for the Amp section ... having said that, the FLINT has a smaller, simpler but isolated PS. Seems to do the job well.

Thanks for the info!

I am most likely going with Flint and upgraded chips, but still looking at Amethyst for possibility of multiple inputs (for use with both of my amps).

 

[Charente]

@Wes S ... I would be most interested in your impressions of FLINT (or Amethyst) with your LYR3 ... and Liquid Platinum, although that is an expensive import for Europe.

 

[Wes S]

@Wes S ... I would be most interested in your impressions of FLINT (or Amethyst) with your LYR3 ... and Liquid Platinum, although that is an expensive import for Europe.

I will definitely post impressions, when I get either of the Metrum dacs.

 

[Charente]

I continue to enjoy the FLINT in my office system and have done a couple more improvements to the chain. I have replaced the Armature Hecate DDC feeding the FLINT with an EITR with 5v injection at the USB plug from an UltraCap LPS-1. This produces a better, more solid, sound than the Hecate and beats the microRendu I had connected to the EITR originally … cheaper, easier and one less box in the chain.

I have also installed an iFi AC iPurifier on the electrical block to get rid of any mains nasties.

GUNGNIR Multibit vs FLINT

I thought I would do a comparison of the FLINT against GMB … an unfair comparison price-wise, for sure, … 500 euros vs 1200 euros.

Bear in mind my GMB is from the 2017 vintage … reports suggest that newer production models have had changes to the analogue stage (as with Ygdrassil), with resulting SQ improvements. I have not heard the later version myself and this has never been confirmed by Schiit, to my knowledge, nor is it offered as an upgrade.

In doing the comparison, I paired the FLINT and GMB with a Mjolnir 2 headphone amplifier, which is equipped with GE5670W 5-Star tubes (via adapters).

My brief notes …

GMB is bold and assertive versus FLINT’s smooth and neutral.

Detail in the music is similar … although GMB has the edge here ... but not by much to my ears.

GMB exhibits a warmer overall presentation, providing more body and weight to the sound. Whereas FLINT could be described as analytical and yet still laid-back at the same time.

GMB does exert greater authority over the music, in particular Sub-Bass is bit more visceral.

FLINT does have good instrument layering front-to-back, although GMB has the more expansive sound-stage … deeper and more articulate. However, I do listen mostly to small ensemble/rock groups so, perhaps this is not as important a difference to me. Large orchestral works may very well benefit more with GMB.

Flint is not a Gungnir Multibit killer, IMO … but it’s not all that far off by comparison. It probably boils down to personal sound preference as much as anything else. Is it worth the extra 700 euros ? On a personal level, probably not. One could certainly be very satisfied with Flint and have 700 euros left over for something else … like more music.

 

[Wes S]

I continue to enjoy the FLINT in my office system and have done a couple more improvements to the chain. I have replaced the Armature Hecate DDC feeding the FLINT with an EITR with 5v injection at the USB plug from an UltraCap LPS-1. This produces a better, more solid, sound than the Hecate and beats the microRendu I had connected to the EITR originally … cheaper, easier and one less box in the chain.

I have also installed an iFi AC iPurifier on the electrical block to get rid of any mains nasties.

GUNGNIR Multibit vs FLINT

I thought I would do a comparison of the FLINT against GMB … an unfair comparison price-wise, for sure, … 500 euros vs 1200 euros.

Bear in mind my GMB is from the 2017 vintage … reports suggest that newer production models have had changes to the analogue stage (as with Ygdrassil), with resulting SQ improvements. I have not heard the later version myself and this has never been confirmed by Schiit, to my knowledge, nor is it offered as an upgrade.

In doing the comparison, I paired the FLINT and GMB with a Mjolnir 2 headphone amplifier, which is equipped with GE5670W 5-Star tubes (via adapters).

My brief notes …

GMB is bold and assertive versus FLINT’s smooth and neutral.

Detail in the music is similar … although GMB has the edge here ... but not by much to my ears.

GMB exhibits a warmer overall presentation, providing more body and weight to the sound. Whereas FLINT could be described as analytical and yet still laid-back at the same time.

GMB does exert greater authority over the music, in particular Sub-Bass is bit more visceral.

FLINT does have good instrument layering front-to-back, although GMB has the more expansive sound-stage … deeper and more articulate. However, I do listen mostly to small ensemble/rock groups so, perhaps this is not as important a difference to me. Large orchestral works may very well benefit more with GMB.

Flint is not a Gungnir Multibit killer, IMO … but it’s not all that far off by comparison. It probably boils down to personal sound preference as much as anything else. Is it worth the extra 700 euros ? On a personal level, probably not. One could certainly be very satisfied with Flint and have 700 euros left over for something else … like more music.

Thanks for the info!